An information handling system mezzanine circuit board disposed in a parallel configuration over a motherboard is selectively coupled and de-coupled at the motherboard with a retraction and latching device that translates retraction force applied at an accessible actuation portion to push upward from below the mezzanine circuit board. A retraction portion of the retraction and latching device provides an upward force at the bottom surface of the mezzanine circuit board to separate the mezzanine circuit board connector from the motherboard connector so that an end user can lift the mezzanine circuit board away from the motherboard.
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10. A method for selectively coupling a mezzanine circuit board to a motherboard, the method comprising:
applying a downward force at an actuator portion of a retraction arm;
translating the downward force into an upward force at a retraction portion of the retraction arm; and
applying the upward force at the bottom surface of the mezzanine circuit board proximate a connector of the mezzanine circuit board to retract the mezzanine circuit board connector from a motherboard connector.
1. An information handling system comprising:
a circuit board operable to support processing components;
plural processing components operable to communicate through the circuit board to process information;
a circuit board connector disposed on the circuit board and interfaced with the processing components;
a mezzanine board supporting one or more processing components and having a mezzanine connector disposed on a bottom surface, the mezzanine connector operable to couple to the circuit board connector with the mezzanine board bottom surface parallel to the circuit board; and
a refraction arm coupled to the circuit board, the retraction arm having an actuation portion extending over the circuit board, a rotation portion coupled with the circuit board and a retraction portion contacting the mezzanine board proximate the circuit board connector, wherein the actuation portion translates a downward force towards the circuit board through the rotation portion into an upward force at the retraction portion to push the mezzanine board connector out of the circuit board connector.
2. The information handling system of
3. The information handling system so of
4. The information handling system of
5. The information handling system of
6. The information handling system of
7. The information handling system of
8. The information handling system of
11. The method of
13. The method of
pressing a downward force on the mezzanine circuit board to force the mezzanine circuit board connector into the motherboard connector; and
engaging a latching portion of the retraction arm with the mezzanine circuit board to maintain the mezzanine circuit board connector in the motherboard connector.
14. The method of
aligning one or more openings of the mezzanine circuit board with one or more posts associated with the retraction arm to bring the mezzanine circuit board connector in alignment with the motherboard connector.
15. The method of
applying the upward force with a first retraction portion at a first side of the mezzanine circuit board connector; and
applying the upward force with a second retraction portion at a second side of the mezzanine circuit board connector.
16. The method of
17. The method of
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system component assembly, and more particularly to an information handling system printed circuit board extraction and latching device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are typically built by assembling a wide variety of components in a chassis and interfacing the components through a main printed circuit board (PCB) known as a motherboard. For example, a motherboard integrates a main processor socket to accept a central processing unit (CPU) and other sockets to accept other processing components, such as a chipset and memory. Wires disposed in the motherboard communicate electrical signals between the processing component sockets. Processing components that are too big to actually couple to the motherboard, such as hard disk drives, are typically connected with wiring harnesses to connectors of the motherboard. The capability of an information handling system generally depends upon the types of components that are selected to interface through the motherboard. This allows end users flexibility in the purchase of information handling systems by selecting information handling systems with capabilities that match an intended task and with costs of a desired budget.
Often, components that interface with a motherboard are themselves assembled on a PCB, sometimes known as a daughter card or mezzanine card. In one common configuration, a daughter card has a connector at an end that inserts into a connector of the motherboard so that the daughter card extends perpendicular from the motherboard. A perpendicular assembly provides ready access to the PCB edges for assembly and removal, however, the height of the assembled system relative to the motherboard requires a relatively large chassis to contain the components. In the mezzanine configuration, the mezzanine card has a connector located on its bottom surface that connects to the motherboard connector so that the mezzanine card assembles parallel to the motherboard. A parallel or “stacked” assembly effectively compresses the height of the information handling system relative to the motherboard so that a shorter chassis can contain the components. Reduced chassis height is particularly helpful with server information handling systems, which stack vertically in a rack. In addition, a parallel assembly of a mezzanine board relative to a motherboard provides room to attach a heat sink that extends into an airflow over the motherboard for cooling of components of the mezzanine board.
One difficulty with the parallel configuration of a mezzanine board relative to a motherboard is that a restricted amount of space is typically available around the mezzanine board for assembly and disassembly to the motherboard. Other components coupled to the motherboard near the mezzanine board make grasping the PCB edges difficult. If, instead, an end user attempts to grasp a heat sink of the mezzanine board to pull the mezzanine board free from the motherboard connector, damage can occur to the mezzanine board. Since the connector of the mezzanine board is not typically visible when coupled to the motherboard, pulling on the heat sink can create a lateral force that damages the motherboard connector, the mezzanine board connector or the components and wiring of the mezzanine circuit board. The restricted space around the mezzanine board typically requires that small-sized retention hooks are generally used to secure the mezzanine board in place at the motherboard connector. These small retention hooks are difficult to manipulate in the small space typically available around the mezzanine board and easily broken.
Therefore a need has arisen for a system and method which provides improved coupling and de-coupling of a mezzanine circuit board to a connector.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are provided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problems associated with previous methods and systems for coupling and de-coupling a mezzanine circuit board to a connector. A retraction arm translates an actuation force applied above a mezzanine circuit board to a retraction force applied from below the mezzanine circuit board to disengage a connector of the mezzanine circuit board from a motherboard connector for removal of the mezzanine circuit board from an information handling system.
More specifically, an information handling system processes information with plural processing components disposed on a motherboard. A connector on the motherboard couples to a mezzanine circuit board connector to support signal communication between the motherboard and processing components disposed on the mezzanine circuit board. A retraction and latching device selectively couples the mezzanine circuit board to the motherboard in a substantially parallel mezzanine configuration. To assemble the mezzanine circuit board, openings on the board align with alignment posts to seat the blind mated connectors below the surface of the mezzanine circuit board, and a downward pressure couples the connectors and engages a latching portion of a retraction arm to hold the mezzanine circuit board in place. To disassemble the mezzanine circuit board, a downward force applied at an actuation portion of the retraction arm is translated by a rotation portion into an upward force at a retraction portion of the retraction arm at the lower surface of the mezzanine circuit board proximate the connectors. The retraction portion pushes upward on the mezzanine circuit board to retract the mezzanine circuit board connector from the motherboard connector so that the mezzanine circuit board can be freely lifted from the motherboard.
The present invention provides a number of important technical advantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that a mezzanine circuit board couples and de-couples to a motherboard connector with the aid of a rotating extraction and latching device. During coupling of the mezzanine circuit board to a connector, the latching device guides the mezzanine circuit board into a proper alignment and provides audible and physical feedback of a proper coupling. During de-coupling, activation of the extraction lever translates an activation force to pivot around a rotation portion to provide an extraction force along the connector from beneath the mezzanine circuit board so that the risk of damage at the connectors and other critical components is reduced. The extraction lever presents itself as readily accessible to an end user and provides a one-handed extraction tool that an end user can actuate to free the connectors and then lift the mezzanine card away from the motherboard. The extraction and latching device does not add significantly to the footprint of the mezzanine card and, in one embodiment, folds when not in use to further reduce the footprint. The extraction and latching device improves the convenience of mezzanine circuit boards by providing greater ease of assembly and disassembly at an information handling system so that an information handling system chassis has a reduced height and is less expensive to build and maintain.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
A retraction and latching device at an information handling system motherboard selectively couples a mezzanine circuit board by translating an actuation above the mezzanine circuit board to a retraction force applied at the bottom surface of the mezzanine circuit board. For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
Referring now to
Upon installation of mezzanine circuit board 12 at motherboard 12, openings 26 formed in mezzanine circuit board 12 align with a guide post 28 at each side of connector 22 so that mezzanine circuit board connector 20 aligns with motherboard connector 22. An end user pushes downward on mezzanine circuit board 12 to engage connectors 20 and 22. In addition, pushing a downward force on mezzanine circuit board 12 causes a retraction arm 30 on each side of motherboard connector 22 to engage with mezzanine circuit board 12 at a retraction portion 32 resting against the bottom surface of mezzanine circuit board 12. As retraction portion 32 is pushed downward, the force translates around a rotation portion 34 of retraction arm 30 into an upward force at an actuation portion 36 of retraction arm 30. As actuation portion 36 moves upward, a latching portion 38 of retraction arm 30 engages mezzanine circuit board 12 to maintain the substantially parallel position of the installed mezzanine circuit board 12.
Referring now to
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Referring now to
Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Figuerado, Stephen N., Hardis, Martin
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